Page 45 of Surrender (Angels Halo MC Next Gen)

It would be so easy to let myself care about the kitten. How was I supposed to not fall in love with her when she meowed up at me so pitifully and then began to purr again as soon as I rubbed my fingers over her soft head? Desperate to keep my eyes dry, I brushed a kiss over her forehead to give myself an excuse to lower my lashes.

“What are we going to name her, baby girl?”

“Daisy?” I murmured, trying to swallow the emotion still choking me.

“Like the duck?” Crystal said with a mean-girl laugh behind me. I could almost smell the smoke that would linger in the air when I burned everything she valued to the ground. She pushed me closer and closer to arson every day.

Jos made a sound that was close to a hiss in the other woman’s direction, causing Crystal’s laugh to cut off abruptly.

Elias stroked the back of his index finger down the kitten’s head, his full attention on me and the kitten. “I like it. Come on. We have to get Little Miss Daisy all the things.”

Jos laughed again. “Have fun, you two. Take the rest of the day to get my new grand-kitten settled at home.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

elias

I’d stoppedfor muffins and ended up a fur-dad when a little ball of fluff walked out of the bushes beside Aggie’s parking lot. A car zoomed past on the highway, making her tremble, and I’d scooped her up.

I searched the area for thirty minutes looking for its momma, only to find she had been run over about a mile and a half down the road. Not bothering to get my usual breakfast pastries, I’d stuffed my new friend into my coat pocket and driven to work.

Mom and Samara had been in a meeting when I’d first arrived, so I’d kept the kitten in my office while I set up a vet check and then returned a few calls. Meanwhile, the floof had slept peacefully on my lap.

Seeing Samara with her cuddled against her chest, fighting not to fall head over heels for the baby, sealed the deal. Daisy was ours.

Humming softly to the kitten, Samara sat beside me in the vet’s waiting room. From all the barking in the back and the other animal smells, Daisy had been uneasy when we’d first arrived. But the vibrations coming from her new mommy and her reassuring strokes to the head had calmed our fur baby down.

“Daisy Reid?” a woman in purple scrubs with black paw print designs on them called from an open exam room door.

She smiled when we stood. “Aww. Look at your sweet baby.”

We stepped into the exam room, but when she reached for Daisy, Samara tensed.

“Easy, momma. I need to check the kitten’s weight,” Connie, the vet tech, said with a reassuring smile. “I’ll give her right back the instant we’re done.”

Daisy mewled in protest when Connie took her away from Samara, her claws sticking into her shirt in an attempt to hold on to her new safe place. “Shh, shh, little one. It will be over soon,” she promised as the tech placed the kitten on a small scale.

I hugged her to my side as we watched the other woman place Daisy on the scale, trying to soothe her, even though I didn’t like the way Daisy was crying any more than Samara did. Samara watched every move Connie made with narrowed eyes. It took less than thirty seconds, and then our fur baby was back in her momma’s arms.

Kissing Daisy’s head, she whispered, “You are such a brave girl.”

Connie gave us a bright smile. “Doc will be with you soon.”

By the time we got home, I wasn’t sure who was more emotionally exhausted—Daisy or Samara. Our fur baby was right at five weeks old, but slightly underweight. With a prescription for lots of affection and attention, we had been scheduled for a follow-up appointment two weeks later so Daisy could start her vaccinations.

“I can take her for the shots by myself if you’re not up for it,” I offered as Samara cuddled into my side on the couch in her apartment with Daisy between us. Seeing how draining it had been for my baby girl from just a few unhappy meows had been bad enough. I wasn’t sure how either of us would handle it when Daisy had to get shots and cried.

Honestly, I was more concerned for the vet and her staff’s well-being if Samara couldn’t handle Daisy’s crying.

She nibbled her lip for only a moment before shaking her head. “No. I want to be there. I want her to know I’ll be with her, no matter what.”

Grasping the back of her neck, I pulled her head down to my shoulder and kissed her brow. “That’s my brave girl.”

She slid her arm around my waist. “I’m so mad at you right now.”

“Yeah?” I closed my eyes and breathed in her sweet, floral scent. “Why’s that, princess?”

“You made me love this rotten little kitty.”

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